


The Harvey Girls and the Mild Colds

by sarahgirl1998



Category: Harvey Street Kids (Cartoon)
Genre: Comedy, Common Cold, Cute, Friendship, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Illnesses, Sick Character, Sickfic, Sneezing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23939392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sarahgirl1998/pseuds/sarahgirl1998
Summary: Unfinished series where each of the Harvey Girls comes down with a Mild Cold.
Relationships: Audrey & Dot & Lotta (Harvey Street Kids), Audrey and Dot and Lotta (Harvey Street Kids), Audrey/Dot/Lotta (Harvey Street Kids)
Kudos: 1





	The Harvey Girls and the Mild Colds

It was a lovely morning in the neighborhood of Harvey Street. The sun was steadily rising up from the horizon, changing the color of the sky from dark blue to a much lighter shade. Before long, you could hear birds chirping from wherever you went. This early in the morning, many of the children were still in their houses, sleeping the last of the night away in their beds.

In one of these houses, and in one of these beds, a particularly large girl lay asleep underneath her covers. In one arm, she held a soft, plush rabbit. Almost as soon as her clock reached seven, however, her eyes slowly opened as rays of sunlight reached her face. Letting go of her stuffed rabbit, she sat up in her bed, then rubbed one of her eyes with her fist.

Another day had begun for Lotta, and she was looking forward to have some fun with her two best friends, Audrey and Dot. That being said, there was something about Lotta that just didn't seem right. Something that would affect her day.

After she'd finished rubbing her eye, Lotta pushed her blankets off of her, and then slowly moved to sit on the edge of the bed. She didn't feel like getting up, but the day had already started. She sniffled once, but it was quite audible. After a long minute, she stepped out of bed and walked over to her drawer.

As she changed out of her nightshirt and pajama bottoms, Lotta continued to sniffle. She also felt a light pain in her throat, so she cleared it a few times as she changed into her normal clothes. By the time she'd gotten her shoes on, however, her throat was still aching a little.

"Ugh..." Lotta coughed a little into her fist, and then gave a deep sniffle. "I... don't feel good..." Suddenly her eyelids lowered as she tilted her upper body back. Her breath hitched once, and then... "Haaaahhhh-- Tchyew!"

Lotta doubled over with a quiet sneeze, and then sulked.

"I... I think I'b coming down with something..." Lotta commented with another sniffle.

She looked over at the mirror in her room to see if she looked unwell. Her eyes had bags under them and her nose had turned a pinkish-red shade. Indeed, she didn't look like herself. But she didn't want to put a day with her friends aside just because she wasn't feeling well... In fact, maybe they could help her.

Lotta picked up her hairbrush and started brushing the tangles out of her hair. It was a bit hard for her to do, though, because of two things: how much it hurt when she found a tangle she tried to straighten out, and how much her head and throat were hurting inside. And so she had to stop when her hair had been halfway fixed.

Lotta put down her hairbrush, opened the door to her bedroom and stepped out. As she went into the bathroom and brushed her teeth, she sniffled a couple times and kept rubbing her nose. After she'd finished cleaning her mouth out, she tried clearing her throat a few times, but these attempts just weren't working.

"Ghh-- Tchyu!" Lotta doubled over as she released another mild sneeze, and then made her way down the stairs in a sulking position.

Finally she made it to the front door. She placed her hand on the doorknob, turned it and pushed the door open before she went outside. The sky was a clear blue, the sun was shining brightly, and she could hear the birds chirping. Lotta inhaled lightly and sighed quietly in disappointment. Why'd she have to come down with a cold on such a nice day?

Suddenly a few coughs escaped her, bringing some light pain through her throat. With a light groan, Lotta walked away from her house and through the front yard, before heading off to the Harvey Girls' trailer. Along the way, she kept sniffling and coughing. She was pretty sure hanging out with Audrey and Dot today wouldn't be easy, what with her feeling as under the weather as she was.

When she was almost there, she saw some yellow flowers growing out of the ground, which gave her an idea. "Maybe these flowers will make me feel better."

Lotta walked over to the flowers, bent over to pick them, and then gave them a couple of gentle sniffs. Suddenly her eyes widened as a nigh-undeniable tickle surged through her nostrils and nasal passages. She dropped the flowers involuntarily, and tilted her upper body back as her breath hitched.

"Ah, hah... Huuh... Aaaaah-- Chyew! Tchew! Ahh-haaah-chu!"

None of the sneezes she released were that forceful or even loud, but Lotta could feel the insides of her nose growing runny. She sulked as she sniffled and rubbed her nose with the back of her hand, looking a bit disappointed that the flowers had made her sneeze.

"Ugh... Nope. That didn't make me feel better..."

She then saw that the trailer was only a few feet away from her. Hopefully Audrey and Dot hadn't seen her sneeze. Lotta went on over to it, occasionally bringing her hand up to wipe her nose once more.

"Ugh, what's taking her so long?" Audrey asked as she looked out the window.

"Be patient, Audrey. Maybe she got distracted by something on the way," Dot stated as she looked up from her novel. "Remember that time she arrived a few minutes late because she was chasing a bunny? Perhaps she found another one."

"You think so? I get they're cute and all, but we can't start playing without her," Audrey replied.

Finally Lotta made it up the stairs to the front door of the trailer. Before she could even place her hand on the doorknob, however, she needed to sneeze again.

"Aaah... Haaaah... Ah-chyu~!"

Almost as soon as she'd released the sneeze, the door opened to reveal Dot. She must have heard Lotta's sneeze - either it was a bit louder than Lotta was used to, or Dot's hearing was that sensitive. Or both - Lotta couldn't tell.

"Hey, Lotta," Dot greeted her. "We were just starting to get worried about you."

"I dow." Lotta stepped into the trailer, sniffling as she did so. "Hey, adyone got a hanky?"

"Well, I do have some tissues, why do you ask?" Dot suddenly looked up at Lotta's face and winced in surprise. "Oh! Lotta, are you alright?"

Another sniffle from Lotta. "Actually, I... Aaah-chyew!" She threw her hand over her mouth as she sneezed again, then looked sheepishly at Dot as she pulled her hand away. "I may have caught a little bug... I was hoping you and Audrey could figure out a way to make me feel better."

"Hmm, you certainly don't look very well," Dot said as she thought for a moment about what to do.

Just then, Audrey came into the room. "Hey, Lotta! You ready to play a game with us?" She got no response. "Lotta?"

Lotta just coughed a bit into her fist, then sniffled again. "I thidk I'd rather do that later..."

"She does have a point, Audrey," Dot stated. "Lotta isn't feeling well. It looks like she's caught a cold."

"Wait, what?!" Audrey cringed in disbelief. "You've gotta be kidding me!"

"I'm afraid not. The best thing we should do is tend to this cold of Lotta's. Right, Lotta?" But Lotta didn't answer. Dot turned to look at her. "Lotta?"

"Huuh... Haaaaaah..." Lotta tilted her upper body back as she was about to sneeze again. This time, however, she tried to stop the sneeze by placing her forefinger underneath her nose. She stopped inhaling, but just as she was convinced she wouldn't sneeze after all, she exploded, doubling over as she did so. "Haaah-tchyeww!"

When she opened her eyes again, she saw that Audrey and Dot were looking at her in surprise and maybe shock. Lotta stood back up and smiled sheepishly, holding her forefinger underneath her nose in embarrassment.

"Excuse be..."

"It's alright, Lotta. Bless you," Dot said. "Let's get you to the couch so we can diagnose the severity of your illness..." She then corrected herself, assuming Lotta didn't understand. "I mean, figure out how bad it is."

Lotta nodded in understanding as Dot guided her to the couch. A moment later, Lotta was laying down on it with a blanket over her body and a cushion behind her head. Dot placed her hand on her forehead.

"Hmm, your head feels a little warm. We may need to take your temperature."

Lotta just sniffled in response. Dot reached behind her back and pulled out a medical kit, which she placed on the coffee table and opened up. She pulled out some rubber gloves and put them on - this made sense, since she didn't like germs or dirt - then pulled out an oral thermometer from the medical kit. Lotta opened her mouth so Dot could place the tip underneath her tongue, and then they waited for it to finish.

Lotta kept the thermometer in her mouth as still as she could, but she couldn't help but sniffle here and there. Her nose felt like it had been stuffed with cotton balls, or perhaps corks; it wasn't a comfortable sensation. After a long minute, Dot removed the thermometer from Lotta's mouth and looked at it.

"101.2," Dot stated. "You've got a little fever going on, I'm afraid."

Lotta responded by turning her head away from Dot, inhaling once, and then giving another cute sneeze. "Aaaaah... Tttchew!"

"Coupled with the fact that you're not sneezing too loud or strongly," Dot stated, "I'd say you've come down with a Mild Cold."

"What's a Bild Code?" Lotta asked with a sniffle. She couldn't say the name correctly due to her stuffy nose, but Dot knew what she was asking about.

"A Mild Cold is a variant of the common cold," Dot started. "It has all the symptoms: coughing, sneezing, sore throat, and a stuffy or runny nose. But unlike the common cold, the symptoms of a Mild Cold are milder than average - for example, it causes you to sneeze mildly, and you may have a light fever."

"I guess that makes sense." Another sniffle from Lotta, followed by a couple of coughs into her hand.

"Even though people with a Mild Cold can still be active," Dot went on, "I would recommend that you get some rest when you have the illness. It'll help you recover sooner. Understand?"

Lotta nodded, then inhaled as she felt another sneeze coming on. "Aaah, haaaah..."

Knowing what was going to happen, Dot pulled out a tissue from a nearby box and covered Lotta's nose with it.

"Huuuh-- Choo!" Lotta doubled over slightly as she sneezed into the tissue. Seeing that Dot had blocked her sneeze, Lotta took the tissue and wiped her nose with it, sniffling a few times as she did so.

"Bless you, Lotta," said Dot.

"Thadks..." Lotta replied. "Ad thadks for the tissue."

"Don't worry about your cold, Lotta," Dot went on, "I'll do my best to make sure you feel better. And Audrey will be here to help, too." She turned to look at Audrey. "Won't you, Audrey?"

"Yeah, as long as it helps," Audrey replied. "Although I was looking forward to doing something fun with you guys."

"I know, but it's more important that we keep Lotta company," Dot said. "And when she starts feeling better, we'll play together. Okay?"

Audrey nodded, and Lotta sniffled again. Dot picked up one of Lotta's favorite stuffed rabbits and offered it to her.

"Would you like to play with this?" Dot asked.

Lotta smiled and accepted the toy rabbit. "Oh, thadk you." She held it in her arms, sniffling occasionally as she did so.

"I'll go get you some water," Audrey said. "Isn't it true that drinking lots of water will help a cold or something?"

"You're absolutely right," Dot told her with a nod. As Audrey headed into the kitchen to retrieve a glass of water, Lotta sneezed again into her hand.

"Hah-ttchy!" She then pulled it a few inches away from her face with a brief sniffle. “Ugh...”

”Hey, Dot?”

”Yeah?”

”I think I once heard...” Lotta briefly wiped her nose with her hand, “that sometimes people sneeze because someone’s talking about them. You think it’s true?”

”I’m not sure,” Dot replied. “Besides, you’re not sneezing because someone’s talking about you, Lotta; you’re sneezing because of your cold.”

"I knew that... Hehh, aah..." Lotta was about to sneeze again. She tilted her neck backward, holding both of her hands over her mouth as her nose trembled. "H-haaaah..."

Dot could already tell that Lotta would explode again - but she knew that if she did so into her hands, then the next thing she touched was bound to receive a dose of her germs. And not helping matters was that Dot had never seen Lotta sneeze into her arm, as she and Audrey usually did. So Dot pulled out another tissue and placed it perfectly into one of Lotta's raised palms. Then she watched as Lotta gave a final inhale, holding the tissue into both hands, and then released a triple - just as Audrey came back into the room with a glass of water in her right hand.

"AHHHH-- Chyew!! Tchu!! Aaah-chiuu!!"

All three of the sneezes were far less loud or dramatic than the buildup that came beforehand, but Audrey and Dot were still a bit surprised. Perhaps it was from how much she'd sneezed in under five seconds. Lotta opened her eyes halfway and groaned slightly as she rubbed her nose with the back of her hand.

"Gesundheit," said Audrey.

Dot chuckled a bit. "Gesundheit is right."

Lotta blew her nose for a couple of seconds, and then wiped it with the tissue she'd just sneezed into. "Th-thank you..."

Dot picked up the tissue box from which she'd been retrieving Lotta's tissues, and placed it by her side so she could reach them. Then she moved out of the way as Audrey approached Lotta and handed her her glass of water. She gently took it and drank the water, taking her time as she did so.

"If you get hungry, Lotta, would you like me to make you some chicken soup?" Dot offered.

Lotta sniffled again. "That'd be dice," she commented.

"If there's anything that can help a cold, it's chicken soup," said Audrey with a smile. Lotta nodded her head once in agreement.

"I'll go into the kitchen and fix you a bowl of soup, then," Dot then said. "Audrey, would you keep Lotta company until it's ready?"

"Sure. Maybe I can find some way to play with her without getting sick."

Dot smiled, then turned and headed to the kitchen herself. Lotta stayed on the couch, coughing a bit into her fist to get rid of a stray tickle in her throat. Audrey stayed with her, wanting to make sure she wasn’t close enough to risk catching her cold.

”I guess that Mild Cold thought you’d make a good hotel, huh, Lotta?” Audrey asked.

Lotta giggled a bit at her humorous comparison. “I suppose so.”

"Well, at least you didn't catch anything worse, like a super bad tummy ache," Audrey went on. "That being said, we've gotta make sure we don't catch that cold."

"Yeah... Aaaaah..." Lotta inhaled once again, then turned away from Audrey and released another sneeze. "Tchyu!" She then brought her hand up to rub her nose gently, accompanied by a couple of sniffles. "Excuse be."

“Bless ya," Audrey replied.

Lotta responded with a little smile, hand still underneath her red nose. Not long afterward, Audrey got an idea.

"Hey, do you think a unicorn could catch a cold?" Audrey asked.

"I'b dot sure, but I wouldn't be surprised if it could." Lotta sniffled. "Why?"

"Maybe, if one of the Hornicorns caught a cold," Audrey theorized, "the other Hornicorns could go and look for a cool plant that could cure her."

"Sounds idteresting." Lotta coughed a bit more, making sure to cover her mouth.

"Or they could use magic to cure the cold right there," said Audrey. "But then we wouldn't really have a story, would we?"

"Probably dot, no." Lotta gave another sniffle.

After a few minutes of conversation, Dot came back into the room. In her hands, she was holding a tray that held a bowl of hot chicken soup.

“Your soup is ready, Lotta,” said Dot.

Lotta smiled as she sat up on the couch. “Oh, goody.”

Dot placed the tray on her lap, and Lotta picked up the spoon that was sitting next to the bowl. She gave another quiet sneeze into her hand before she started eating, with Audrey and Dot watching her do so.

Lotta sometimes sniffled or coughed while she ate her soup, but otherwise didn’t let her symptoms keep her from enjoying it. Even if she couldn’t taste its hearty flavor, the warmth of the soup was soothing her throat and clearing her nasal passages a bit.

Finally, after a few minutes, Lotta was done with her soup. She placed her spoon into the now-empty bowl with a contented sigh.

"I'm glad you liked it, Lotta," said Dot.

"I just hope it does make be feel better..." Lotta mentioned. Not long after she'd said that, her nose tickled once again, and she tilted her head back. "Aaaah--" She was a bit too late to turn away from Audrey and Dot this time, but they ducked down before they could get sprayed.

"Hah-shyew!" That being said, they couldn't see any saliva being released from Lotta's mouth when she sneezed. It was just another clean, spray-free sneeze that she always did. Audrey and Dot stood back up as Lotta sulked, rubbing her nose gingerly with her hand. "Excuse be..."

"It's alright," said Dot. "Bless you."

"Yeah. Bless ya," Audrey said in agreement. Lotta smiled at her to let her know she thanked her.

"Why don't you take a nap for a couple of hours?" Dot suggested. "As with any illness, rest is important."

"It sure is." Lotta sniffled a couple of times as she let Dot tuck her in. She also gave a small yawn into her hand as she made herself comfortable.

"Hope you feel better, Lotta," Audrey said with a smile.

Lotta held her favorite stuffed bunny in her arm as her eyelids began to fall. Before a minute had gone by, she had fallen asleep, breathing in and out quietly.

Audrey and Dot looked at each other, both smiling. They made their way out of the living room so they could give Lotta some peace and quiet, and went over to where their toys and books were. They gave one last look at Lotta to make sure she was sound asleep, and then each picked up one of their favorite books to read.


End file.
